Well reamer



F. F. HILL July 13 1926.

while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Patented July 13, 1926.

UNITED STATES FRAIEK F. HILL, 0]? LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

WELL REAMER.

Application filed November 1, 1923. Serial No. 671,195.

This invention relates to a well reamer of the type employed for reamingor straightening up a well hole after the drilling operation. Tools forthis purpose are usually known as flat reaming bits or fourway reamingbits and as the wear on'the edges of these tools is considerable theymust be continually redressed so as to maintain them of the proper gage.The fourway type of reaming bit also puts considerable strain upon thedrill pipe because of the relatively large amount of contact with thewall of the hole in reaming. The general object of this invention is toproduce a well reamer of simple construction with cutters mounted in thebody of the tool in diflerent positions or in a different relation sothat they can be readily set to a desired diameter, and this withoutnecessitating the constant redressing of the tool; also to provide atool of this type in which the cutters can be very readily dressed orsharpened when desired.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to bedescribed hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an eiiicientwell reamer.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecification Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a Well reamerembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the well reamer shown in Fig. l but upon an enlargedscale.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross section upon an enlarged scale taken on theline 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the reamer taken about on the lineH of Fig. 2 with the upper and lower portions of the body broken away.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken through the upper portion of thebodyof the reamer on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2, and particularly illustratingthe construction of the water ducts for carrying the circulating waterthrough the tool, the lower portion of the body being broken away.

In practicing the invention I provide an elongated body 1 which may havethe usual tapered pin 2 at its upper end and tapered box 3 at its lowerend to enable the tool to be connected in a drill pipe or drill string.

I also provide a cutter plate together with means for securing the samein, or to, this body 1, and'mount the cutter plate with its cutting edgeprojecting from the body so that the cutter will operate to scrape thewall of the hole when the body is rotated on its .longitudinal axis. Iprefer to pro vide a plurality of cutter plates and construct them insuch a way that they can be readily mounted in a plurality of differentextended ositions; this enables them to to be set any esired diameter.These cutter plates are preferably mounted diametrically on the body andare preferably arranged in sets, there being two cutter plates in eachset. Each set or pair of cutter plates is mounted in its transverse slotso that each plate of the pair is displaced from the other in adirection longitudinally of the body of the tool. And I provideinterlocking means between the plates enabling them to be interlocked ina plurality of different adjusted positions with the cutting edge ofeach plate projecting on one side of the body.

In order to accomplish this I provide the body 1 with one or moretransverse slots. In the present instance I provide two transverse slots4 and 5 which are disposed in intersecting planes. Where there are onlytwo slots as illustrated the planes of the slots should be at rightangles to each other. I provide two cutter plates 6 and 7 correspondingto the lower slot 5 (see Fig. 4) and provide similar cutter plates inthe upper slot 4.

The construction at one slot is the same as at the other and hence itwill suifice to destructed with interlocking means which'may be in theform of a row of uniform teeth 9 placed along the adjacent edges of theplates; that is to say, the plate 2 is disposed between the two cutterplates and has V shaped teeth on its upper and lower edges which meshwith similar V-shaped teeth on the adjacent edges of the cutter plates.

Before placing the cutters in the slot they are applied to the lockingplate so that their cutting edges 10 project an equal amount from theends of the locking plate 8, and after being set together in this waythe plates are slid longitudinally into the slot 5. Atthe middle pointof the locking plate 8 a recess or opening 11 is provided with whichcooperates means for securing the locking plate in place. This means, ofcourse, also operates to holdthe plates 6 and 7 against longitudinalmovement because the upper and lower edges respectively of these platesengage the edges of the slot 5 which are preferably rounded as shown inFig. 5. I prefer to employ a through bolt 12 which is diametricallydisposed in the body 1 at right angles to the plane of the slot 5, andpasses through the opening 11. This bolt has a nut 14 at one end whichis counter-sunk into the side of the body and its other end is providedwith a socket head 13 which is also counter-sunk intothe body, and thishead is provided with a split pin 15 which is received in a recess 16(see Fig.5)) which operates as a lock nut to prevent the bolt fromworking loose. Any suitable lock-nut device may be employed for thispurpose. For convenience in manufacture, the nut 14 is made ofsubstantially round form but is provided with a slight projection or toe17 which is received in a corresponding recess 18 (see Fig. 4) and thisprevents the nut from rotating on its axis. The socket in the head 13may be a hexagon or of square form.

In order to assist in adjusting the plates into their proper positionand also to prevent their chattering when in use, I provide a set screw19 corresponding to each of the plates, and these set screws are mountedin a row with their heads received in an elongated recess 20 cut in theside of the body (see Fig. 3).

I provide improved means for carrying the circulating water from end toend through the body 1 of this tool. This means is particularly usefulin a tool of this type because it obviates the necessity for drillinglongitudinally through the body;v while this improvement is especiallyadapted to use with this tool, evidently, it may be used in any kind ofa tool where it is desired to provide special means for carrying thecirculating water through the tool.

In order to accomplish this I provide a gutter or preferably a pair ofgutters 21 which are formed in the outer face of the body 1. Thesegutters are located at points on the face of the body between theopenings at the ends of the slots, and may be formed diametricallyopposite to each other as shown in Fig. 3; they may be produced bymilling a channel in the outer face of the body. After the millingoperation these channels are sealed or closed on their outer sides inany suitable manner, for example, by providing a cover plate 22 for eachchannel. These cover plates are welded in position, and if desired, tofacilitate this welding operation the side walls of the channels may beprovided with beveled faces 23 (see Fig. 2) and the plates 22 may beprovided with oppositely beveled faces so that the effect of a smallV-shaped groove is formed on each side of the plate. This groove isutilized to receive the welding metal.

However, before sealing the channels or grooves 21 in this way, inclinedconnecting passages 24 are drilled in from the ends of the channels toopen communication with the bores 25 which are formed at the upper andlower ends of the tool body, but which are otherwise independent of eachother.

A tool constructed in accordance with this invention will lastindefinitely if the cutter plates are adjusted and redressed whennecessary. In order to redress them or sharpen them, they should, ofcourse, be removed from the body. Their simple form greatly facilitatesthe redressing and sharpening operations.

Furthermore. the cutters can be set to an Y required cutting diameterwhich gives each reamer tool a wider range of usefulness than whenconstructed of one piece. The tool attains all the desirable cut-tingeffects of a fourway reamer, but avoids the disadvantages of thatparticular type of tool. When the cutters have become so Worn that theycannot be used further, they can, of course, be removed and new cutterssubstituted.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described hereinis only one of the many embodiments this invention may take and I do notwish to be limited in the practice of my invention nor in my claims tothe particular embodiment set forth.

I claim:

1. In a well reamer, the combination of a body having a transverse slot,a pair of plates mounted in the slot and displaced one beyond the otherlongitudinally of the body and having interlocking means for engagingthe edges of said plates to enable the plates to be adjusted into aplurality of different extended positions with the cutting end of eachplate projecting beyond the side of the body, and means for securing theplates against movement within the body.

2. In a well reamer, thecombination of a body, a pair of cutter platesand a locking plate disposed in substantially the same plane therewith,said cutter plates and said locking plate having interlocking meanscooperating to enable the cutter plates to be held in different extendedpositions, and means for securing the plates to said body.

3. In a well reamer, the combination of a body, a pair of cutter plates,a locking plate, said cutter plates and said locking plate havinginterlocking teeth on their adjacent edges cooperating to enable thecutter plates to be held in different extended positions, Ianal meansfor securing the plates to said 4. In a Well reamer, the combination ofa body having a transverse slot, a pair of cutter plates, a lockingplate, said cutter plates and said locking plate having interlockingteeth on their adjacent edges cooperating to enable the cutter plates tobe held in difi'erent extended positions, and means for securing theplates in the transverse slot.

5. In a Well reamer, the combination of a body having a plurality oftransverse slots disposed respectively in intersecting planes, each slothaving a pair ofcutter plates and a locking plate between them theadjacent edges of the locking plateand cutter plates having interlockingteeth cooperating to enable the cutter plates to be held in differentpositions, and means for securing the plates in their slots.

6. In a Well reamer, the combination of a body, having a transverseslot, a pair of cutter plates disposed in the slot With a locking platebetween the cutter plates, said cutter plates and locking-plates havinginterlocking means, and means mounted in the body for securing thelocking plate and the cutter plates in the slot.

7. In a Well reamer, the combination of a body having a transverse slot,a pair of cutter plates with a locking plate disposed therebetween, saidcutter plates and locking plate having interlocking means operating toprevent movement of the cutter plates in the slot and relative to thelocking plate, a through bolt passing through the locking plate havingits head countersunk into the body and a lock nut on the other end ofthe through bolt countersunk into the body.

Signed at Los Angeles, Calif., this 12th

